Pro-Gastrin Releasing Peptide: A New Serum Marker for Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is thought to play a role in the metastatic process of various malignancies. The more stable precursor of GRP, pro-GRP (ProGRP), has been shown to be secreted by neuroendocrine tumors. This study was designed to assess the validity of ProGRP as a diagnostic marker in endometrioid adenocarcinomas (EAs) of the endometrium. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with a diagnosis of EA, 23 patients with endometrial hyperplasia, and 32 age-matched controls with normal endometrial histology were recruited for this study. Serum ProGRP and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) values were compared between groups. RESULTS: Median serum ProGRP levels were significantly higher in the cancer group compared to corresponding levels in both the hyperplasia and control groups (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001 respectively; endometrial cancer: 27.5 pg/mL; hyperplasia: 16.1 pg/mL; controls: 12.9 pg/mL). Age and endometrial thickness were positively correlated with ProGRP levels (r = 0.322, p = 0.006 and r = 0.269, p = 0.023, respectively). Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses for EA revealed a threshold of 20.81 pg/mL, with a sensitivity of 60.7% and specificity of 81.4%, positive predictive value of 68% and negative predictive value of 76.1%. CONCLUSION: Significantly higher ProGRP levels were observed in patients with EA than in controls. Serum ProGRP has good diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for EA.

Foreign body aspiration in a pregnant woman: successfully removed roasted chickpea.

Foreign body aspiration is a serious health problem in all age groups, and in pregnancy it may cause serious complications for the fetus as well as the pregnant woman. Here we present our case of a 36 years old 22 weeks pregnant woman, accidentally aspirating roasted chickpea upon laughing. She had the complaints of coughing and shortness of breath on admission, bronchoscopy was performed, and the roasted chickpea blocking the entrance of right lower lobe bronchus was removed without any complications. For foreign body aspiration in pregnancy, bronchoscopy is a rather safer procedure when performed by an experienced team.

The preoperative serum CA125 can predict the lymph node metastasis in endometrioid-type endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the predictive value of preoperative CA125 in extra-uterine disease and its association with poor prognostic factors in endometrioid-type endometrial cancer (EC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 423 patients with pathologically proven endometrioid-type EC were included in the study. The association between preoperative CA125 level and surgical-pathological factors was evaluated. The conventional cut-off value was defined as 35 IU/mL. RESULTS: A high CA125 level ( > 35 IU/mL) was significantly associated with all of the studied poor prognostic factors, except grade. The risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) increased from 15.9% to 45.7% when CA125 level was > 35 IU/mL (p < 0.05). The optimal cut-off value for the prediction of LNM in patients aged > 50 years was determined to be 16 IU/mL (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 71%, 60%, 35%, and 87%, respectively.) Conclusions: Preoperative CA125 level was significantly related with the extent of the disease and LNM. The age-dependent cut-off level of CA125 can improve the prediction of LNM in endometrioid-type EC. For older patients, CA125 level of > 16 IU/ml could be used to predict LNM. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the appropriate cut-off level of CA125 for younger patients.

Is Neurosurgery With Adjuvant Radiotherapy an Effective Treatment Modality in Isolated Brain Involvement From Endometrial Cancer?: From Case Report to Analysis.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment options and post-brain involvement survival (PBIS) of patients with isolated brain involvement from endometrial cancer (EC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The literature electronic search was conducted from 1972 to May 2016 to identify articles about isolated (without extracranial metastases) brain involvement from EC at recurrence and the initial diagnosis. Forty-eight articles were found. After comprehensive evaluation of case series and case reports, the study included 49 cases. RESULTS: The median age of the patients at initial diagnosis was 57 years (range, 40-77 years). Poor differentiation was determined in 36 (73.5%) patients. Thirty-five (71.4%) patients had a single brain lesion. Lesion was found in the supratentorial part of the brain in 33 (67.3%) patients. Median PBIS for all cohorts was 13 months (range, 0.25-118 months) with 2-year PBIS of 52% and 5-year PBIS of 37%. Age, tumor type, grade, disease-free interval, diagnosis time of brain lesion, localization, and number of brain lesion were not predictive of PBIS. Two-year PBIS was 77% in patients who underwent surgical resection and radiotherapy, whereas it was 19% in the surgical resection-only group, and 20% in the primary radiotherapy-only group (Ps = 0.003 and 0.001, respectively). Chemotherapy was not associated with improved PBIS. CONCLUSIONS: Although neuroinvasion from EC appears mostly with a disseminated disease, there is a considerable amount of patients with isolated brain involvement who would have a higher chance of curability. Surgery with radiotherapy is the rational current management option, and this improves the survival for isolated brain involvement from EC.

Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients With Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer: Overtreatment Is the Main Issue.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of histological grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and tumor size to identify lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer (EC). METHODS: A retrospective computerized database search was performed to identify patients who underwent comprehensive surgical staging for EC between January 1993 and December 2015. The inclusion criterion was endometrioid type EC limited to the uterine corpus. The associations between LNM and surgicopathological factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: In total, 368 patients were included. Fifty-five patients (14.9%) had LNM. Median tumor sizes were 4.5 cm (range, 0.7-13 cm) and 3.5 cm (range, 0.4-33.5 cm) in patients with and without LNM, respectively (P = 0.005). No LMN was detected in patients without myometrial invasion, whereas nodal spread was observed in 7.7% of patients with superficial myometrial invasion and in 22.6% of patients with deep myometrial invasion (P < 0.0001). Lymph node metastasis tended to be more frequent in patients with grade 3 disease compared with those with grade 1 or 2 disease (P = 0.131). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of lymph node involvement was 30%, even in patients with the highest-risk uterine factors, that is, those who had tumors of greater than 2 cm, deep myometrial invasion, and grade 3 disease, indicating that 70% of these patients underwent unnecessary lymphatic dissection. A precise balance must be achieved between the desire to prevent unnecessary lymphadenectomy and the ability to diagnose LNM.

Uterine and Ovarian Carcinosarcomas: Do They Behave Similarly?

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the clinicopathologic characteristics, recurrence patterns, and survival of patients with ovarian carcinosarcomas (OCs) and uterine carcinosarcomas (UCs). METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed with UCs or OCs on the basis of final pathology reports and who underwent surgery between January 1993 and January 2015 were included in the study. Data of patients were obtained from Gynecological Oncology Clinic electronic database and patient files. RESULTS: The study included 101 and 21 patients who underwent surgery for UCs and OCs, respectively. Forty percent and 67% of patients who had UCs and OCs, respectively, experienced lymph node metastasis (P = 0.051). Median follow-up time was 12 months (range, 1-158 months) for patients with UCs and 24 months (range 1-154 months) for patients with OCs. Recurrence developed outside the abdomen in 58% of patients with UCs and in 10% of patients with OCs (P = 0.005). Median time to recurrence was 9 months (range 3-58 months) in patients with UCs, whereas it was 18 months (range 11-72 months) in patients with OCs (P = 0.002). Five-year disease-free survival was 34% and 19% for patients with UCs and OCs, respectively (P = 0.90). Five-year overall survival was 56% for patients with UCs and 54% for patients with OCs (P = 0.51). CONCLUSION: We found that UCs recurred earlier and extra-abdominally. Recurrence pattern should be kept in mind during the planning of adjuvant therapies for these patients.

Uterine adenosarcomas: A dual-institution experience.

There has been limited literature about treatment and follow-up strategies of uterine adenosarcomas because of their rare nature. For this study we retrospectively investigated the medical database of the two major womens' health hospitals in Turkey. A total of 15 patients were identified from the hospital's database. Median follow-up was 86.43 months for all patients. Seven out of 15 patients had recurrences during their follow-up. Among these 7 patients, 4 of them had stage IA disease. Median Disease Free Survival (DFS) and Overall Survival (OS) were calculated as 41.47 and 57.21 months, respectively. According to our study, polypoid tumours confined to the uterus with superficial myometrial invasion can be treated without comprehensive surgical staging. We believe that, publishing all the data in an organised manner even though they are small in size, gives us an opportunity to design meta-analysis for the development of more appropriate treatment strategies.

Effectiveness of low-dose oral etoposide treatment in patients with recurrent and platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity profile of oral etoposide (50 mg/day, days 1-14, every 3 weeks) in recurrent platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). 52 recurrent platinum-resistant EOC patients followed up in four centres between April 2000 and December 2013 were analysed retrospectively. There was response in a total of 21 patients [partial response (PR) and stable disease (SD)], 12 of them used etoposide in second and third, and 9 of them used it in fourth- to fifth-lines of treatment. The overall response rate was 19.2% and clinical benefit rate was 40.4% [PR (19.2%), SD (21.2%)]. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.95 months (95%CI, 0.2-19.7 months) and 3.2 months (95%CI 2.6-3.8 months), respectively. Grade III-IV haematologic and non-haematologic adverse events were observed in 7 (13.4%) patients. We consider that oral etoposide (50 mg/day, days 1-14, every 3 weeks) is an effective treatment with a manageable adverse effect profile in recurrent platinum-resistant EOC patients. Impact statement What is already known on this subject: Oral etoposide is an effective option for recurrent EOC patients at a dose of 50-100 mg/m2/day (1-21 days, every 28 days) regimen. However, it has a high toxicity rate. What the results of this study add: Oral etoposide at a dose of 50 mg/kg (1-14 days, every 21 days) is an effective treatment with a manageable toxicity profile in platinum- resistant ovarian cancer patients when it is used as ≤4th-line palliative setting. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: We need trials evaluating the effect of low-dose oral etoposide combination with bevacizumab or other chemotherapy agents (irinotecan and gemcitabine) in platinum-resistant EOC patients.

The Factors Predicting Recurrence in Patients With Serous Borderline Ovarian Tumor.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the characteristics, recurrence rates, survival, and factors associated with survival of patients with serous borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) who were operated on in a single institution. Our secondary goal was to evaluate the necessity of staging surgery and the importance of a comprehensive lymphadenectomy in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients who were diagnosed in our institution between January 1990 and April 2014 with a final diagnosis of serous BOT were evaluated retrospectively. Kaplan-Meier method was used for analysis of progression-free survival (PFS). Univariate Cox proportional hazards model and log rank test were used for analysis of continuous and categorical variables affecting survival, respectively. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-one (75%) patients underwent staging surgery. Stage I disease was observed in 63%, stage III was observed in 11% of the patients, and only 0.6% of patients had stage II disease. Among 162 patients, 72 patients (44%) had conservative surgery. Eight (4.9%) patients had recurrence, one of which was invasive. All recurrences were in the patients who had conservative surgery. Median follow-up of the patients was 57 months (range, 37-270 years). Five- and 10-year PFS rates were 94.9% and 92.8%, respectively. In the univariate analysis of patients with serous BOT, PFS was worse in the presence of positive para-aortic lymph nodes, positive abdominal cytology, and conservative surgery (P = 0.008, P < 0.001, P = 0.007, respectively). The patients having noninvasive implant and advanced-stage disease had a tendency to have worse PFS (P = 0.067, P = 0.069, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Staging surgery generally gives us an idea of the probability of recurrence but not an idea of overall survival. Therefore, staging surgery including lymphadenectomy could be suggested to have information about the probability of recurrence and to be able to detect patients with an invasive implant that is the only probable factor affecting overall survival.

Prognostic Factors in Adult Granulosa Cell Tumor: A Long Follow-Up at a Single Center.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to demonstrate characteristics, recurrence rates, survival numbers, and factors associated with survival of patients with adult granulosa cell tumor (AGCT) from a single institution. Our secondary goal was to evaluate the necessity of staging surgery and the importance of a comprehensive lymphadenectomy in these patients. METHODS: The data of 158 patients in our institution who were diagnosed with AGCT between 1988 and 2013 were evaluated. The data were obtained from the files of the patients, electronic database of the gynecologic oncology clinic, operation notes, and pathology records. RESULTS: The median (range) age of the patients was 50.3 (22-82) years. The main symptom was postmenopausal bleeding (25.9%). Seventy-six percent of the patients underwent staging surgery including lymphadenectomy. Among these patients, 3 (2.5%) had lymph node metastasis. The median (range) follow-up time was 97 (1-296) months. In the follow-up period, 18 patients (12.5%) had recurrence. Menopausal status (P = 0.016), advanced age (P = 0.024), cyst rupture (P = 0.001), poorly differentiated tumor (P = 0.002), and advanced stage (P < 0.001) were associated with recurrence. Stage was the only independent prognostic factor for the development of recurrence. None of the patients had lymph node failure. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study with a long follow-up period and in which most of the patients had staging surgery including lymphadenectomy (76.6%), lymph node recurrence was not observed and the total recurrence rate (12.5%) was lower than that reported in the literature. The study showed the importance of surgical staging in patients with AGCT.

Bone recurrence rarely seen in endometrial cancer and review of the literature.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical findings and treatment results of patients with endometrial cancer (EC) who experienced initial recurrence or progression in bones. METHODS: Ten EC patients experiencing initial recurrence or disease progression in bones were included in the study. Disease recurrences located in a single bone and in more than one bone were defined as single localization bone recurrence (BR) and multiple localization BR, respectively. Time from initial surgery to BR was determined as disease-free interval (DFI) and time from BR to death or last contact with a patient was described as post-recurrence survival (PRS). RESULTS: Seven of 10 patients were asymptomatic. The median DFI was 13 months (range: 2-68). While eight patients had isolated BR, two patients also had concurrent extraosseous recurrences. Five patients had single and four patients had multiple localization BR. The most common sites for BR were the femur (55.5%) and vertebra (44.4%). Two-year PRS was 37.5% in all patients and 50% in patients with endometrioid EC. None of the patients with non-endometrioid type EC survived. In patients with multiple localization BR and with recurrence only occurred in the bones, two-year PRS was 75% and 50%, respectively. None of the patients with BR with extraosseous involvement survived beyond two years. Two-year PRS was 50% in patients without extraosseous dissemination, independent from localization. CONCLUSION: The BR rate was remarkable in asymptomatic EC survivors. A single bone was frequently involved. Little is known of the optimal treatment for metastatic bone disease in EC, thus, management should be individualized and patients should be encouraged to participate in clinical trials.

Clinical outcomes of uterine carcinosarcoma: results of 94 patients.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the clinicopathologic features and identify prognostic factors of patients with uterine carcinosarcoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 94 patients with uterine carcinosarcoma who were diagnosed between January 1993 and October 2013 were included. Staging surgery consisted of total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, peritoneal cytology, and omentectomy. Staging is undertaken according to the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to determine the effects of variables on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Seventy-nine patients underwent staging surgery and none of them had residual tumor after surgery. Three-year DFS and 3-year OS were 42.7% and 59.2%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, stage, presence of para-aortic metastatic lymph nodes, uterine serosal spread, positive peritoneal cytology, and extrapelvic metastases were associated with 3-year DFS and stage, presence of para-aortic metastatic lymph nodes, uterine serosal spread, positive peritoneal cytology, adnexal involvement, and extrapelvic metastases were associated with 3-year OS. Seventy-four patients received adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant therapy did not reduce recurrence or improve survival. Any of the chemotherapy regimens was not superior to the others. In the multivariate analysis, only age was an independent prognostic factor for 3-year DFS and no parameter was statistically significant for 3-year OS. CONCLUSIONS: Age was an independent prognostic factor for 3-year DFS. Older age was associated with poor survival. Extrauterine spread was associated with survival. The aims of surgery should be both staging and providing tumoral debulking. Prospective randomized trials are needed to better define the necessity and modality of the administered adjuvant therapy.

Assessing the Quality of Life in Patients With Endometrial Cancer Treated With Adjuvant Radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: The current study evaluates long-term quality of life (QOL) and sexual function of patients with endometrial cancer who received adjuvant pelvic external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and/or vaginal brachytherapy (BRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-four endometrial cancer survivors who were treated between January 2000 and December 2009 in our department were included in this study. Median follow-up was 79 months (range, 31-138 months). Fifty-two patients were treated with 45 to 50.4 Gy EBRT, 76 were with BRT, and 16 were with both EBRT and BRT. Brachytherapy was in the form of vaginal cuff BRT with 5 × 550 cGy high dose rate BRT, prescribed to the first 4 cm and whole wall thickness of vagina. Quality of life was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 and subscales from the supplemental 24-item Cervical Cancer Module. RESULTS: Vaginal BRT patients reported better physical functioning (P = 0.01), role functioning (P = 0.03), and sexual enjoyment (P = 0.01) compared to EBRT group. Symptom score (P = 0.01), lymphedema (P = 0.03), pain (P = 0.02), and diarrhea (P = 0.009) scores were also higher with EBRT. Vaginal BRT did not worsen symptom scores or sexual functions when added to EBRT. Obese patients experienced higher rates of lymphedema (P = 0.008). Cognitive and role functioning scores were significantly higher in patients with normal body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: External beam radiotherapy negatively affects long-term QOL and sexual functions in endometrial cancer survivors. Vaginal BRT provides higher QOL. Patients with body mass index within normal limits have improved QOL.

Salvage Cytoreductive Surgery for Recurrent Endometrial Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of salvage cytoreductive surgery (SCS) on overall survival (OS) among patients with recurrent endometrial cancer and if there is any predictor for residual tumor status. METHODS: Between January 1993 and May 2013, data of 34 patients who had SCS for recurrent endometrial cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Overall survival was determined from SCS to last follow-up. RESULTS: The surgical procedure was local excision without laparotomy in 12 patients, and optimal cytoreduction (no visible disease) was achieved in 24 of 34 patients. There were no perioperative deaths. None of the factors was associated with achievement of optimal cytoreduction. Five-year OS rates were 37% and 27% for the entire cohort and for the laparotomy group, respectively. For the entire cohort, disease-free interval (from initial surgery to recurrence), adjuvant therapy after initial surgery, CA-125 level at recurrence, multiplicity of recurrence, surgical procedure, and optimal cytoreduction and for the laparotomy group adjuvant treatment and optimal cytoreduction were associated with OS. In the laparotomy group, OS rates were 53 and 9 months in the patients who did and did not have optimal SCS, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Significant survival benefit can be achieved with optimal resection. Prospective studies should be designed to define optimal cytoreduction and to determine the predictors of optimal cytoreduction achievement.

Does Lymphadenectomy Improve Survival in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma?

INTRODUCTION: The role of lymphadenectomy in the management of uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is controversial. We aimed to identify whether lymph node dissection (LND) has any survival benefit in uterine LMS. METHODS: Data of 95 patients with histologically proven uterine LMS from 2 tertiary centers (1993 through 2009) were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used for analyses. RESULTS: Mean age was 51.5 years. Thirty-six (37.9%) underwent LND. The median lymph node count was 54. Eight (22.2%) patients had lymphatic metastasis. Median follow-up was 26 months. Sixty-two (65%) patients had recurrence and 48 (50.5%) died. Median disease-free survival (DFS) was 19 months for both group of patients who had or did not have LND, and median overall survival (OS) was 29 and 26 months, respectively (P = 0.4). Five-year DFS was 35.9% vs 26.8% (P = 0.4), and 5-year OS was 45.4% vs 43.8% (P = 0.22) for the groups. Multivariate analyses did not reveal a single independent prognostic factor in respect to DFS or OS. CONCLUSION: Higher rate of lymph node metastasis in patients with extrauterine disease indicated the importance of LND in LMS. However, the survival benefit of lymphadenectomy could not be shown.

Is there any predictor for residual disease after cervical conization with positive surgical margins for HSIL or microinvasive cervical cancer?

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify if there is any predictor of residual disease at repeat operation after cervical conization with positive surgical margins for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) or microinvasive cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records of patients who underwent immediate repeat conization or hysterectomy because of positive surgical margins for HSIL or microinvasive cervical cancer reported after conization were obtained. The relation between the residual disease and age, parity, menopausal status, and the factors of first conization (method, cone base area, height of cone, endocervical margin, glandular and endocervical curettage specimen involvement, and the number of quadrants with positive surgical margins) was assessed. Standard statistical tests were used. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients were included. Mean time between the 2 operations was 5.1 weeks. Thirty-four patients (45.9%) had residual disease in the second-operation specimen: 4 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, 24 HSILs, 5 microinvasive lesion, and 1 invasive cervical carcinoma. The number of involved quadrants was the only predictor of residual disease (41% if ≤2 and 80% if >2, p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Residual disease is found in nearly half of repeat operations after conization with positive margins for HSIL or microinvasive cervical cancer. Particularly, residual disease is present in 80% of the patients with more than 2 involved quadrants. This should be considered when making management decisions.

Analysis of patients with stage IIIC endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to define the factors that are related to recurrence and survival in patients with stage IIIC endometrial carcinoma in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 147 patients who underwent staging surgery and had a diagnosis of stage IIIC1 to IIIC2 endometrial cancer according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2009 were included. Patients whose data could not be obtained and patients with a diagnosis of uterine sarcoma and with synchronous tumors were excluded. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 58.6 years. Among these patients, 63 had stage IIIC1 and 84 had stage IIIC2 disease. Extrauterine spread was detected in 22% of the patients. Median number of paraaortic (PA) and pelvic lymph nodes removed were 16.5 and 38, respectively. Paraaortic and pelvic nodal involvements were detected in 84 patients and 125 patients, respectively. Radiotherapy was applied more commonly as an adjuvant therapy. Three-year progression-free survival (PFS) and 3-year disease-specific survival (DSS) were 65% and 84%, respectively. Seventy percent of the recurrences were outside the pelvis. Site of metastatic lymph nodes and the number of metastatic PA lymph nodes were associated with 3-year PFS and lymphovascular space invasion; site of metastatic lymph nodes and the presence of recurrence were associated with 3-year DSS in the univariate analysis. Although any surgicopathological factor was not related to 3-year PFS, only the presence of recurrence was an independent prognostic factor for a 3-year DSS in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 0.017; 95% confidence interval, 0.002-0.183). CONCLUSIONS: The number of debulked metastatic lymph nodes and PA involvement were associated with recurrence in the univariate analysis. The presence of recurrence was the only independent prognostic factor detecting survival. Therefore, systematic lymphadenectomy involving PA lymph nodes instead of sampling should be performed in patients with high risk for nodal involvement in endometrial cancer.

Chylous ascites: analysis of 24 patients.

OBJECTIVES: Chylous ascites is the pathologic accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Patients who underwent surgery for gynecologic malignancy and had postoperative chylous ascites were evaluated retrospectively. METHODS: We reviewed 1514 patients who had staging surgery for gynecologic malignancy at our institution from January 2003 to February 2012. We analyze the patients who develop chylous ascites and who didn't. RESULTS: Twenty-four (2%) patients had postoperative chylous ascites. In the patients with chylous ascites, the median number of removed para-aortic lymph nodes was 26 (range 8-54), while this number was 17 (range 1-76) for the patients who didn't develop chylous ascites (p=0.001). Among the patients with chylous ascites, nine patients took chylous diet and 15 patients took TPN as the initial treatment. Totally seven (29%) patients required surgical correction, since 17 (71%) responded to conservative treatment. In the TPN group, the time from staging surgery to the diagnosis of chylous ascites was significantly longer in the group who required surgery compared with the group who did not (20 days vs 8 days, p:0.037). In addition this time wasn't statistically different from the patients' time in the diet group who didn't require surgery. CONCLUSION: The aggressiveness of para-aortic lymphadenectomy should be individualized and the lymphatics should be controlled with suture ligation or hemoclips, since the extent and method of para-aortic lymphadenectomy has a determinative role in the development of chylous ascites. It may be logical to treat chylous ascites with diet rather than TPN initially in case the symptoms occur later.

Secondary cytoreductive surgery outcomes of selected patients with paclitaxel/platinum sensitive recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCRS) on survival and to determine prognostic factors that may predict surgical and survival outcome. STUDY DESIGN: Between 1999 and 2011, data of 67 patients who had SCRS for epithelial ovarian cancer were evaluated. Factors that had an impact on survival were determined by statistical analysis. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that the number of chemotherapy cycles after primary surgery, CA 125 level at SCRS, number of recurrent tumors, recurrence before SCRS, disease dissemination, and number of chemotherapy cycles after SCRS were significantly associated with disease free survival after SCRS. In multivariate analysis, serum CA125 level, tumor dissemination, and number of chemotherapy cycles after SCRS were significantly associated with disease free survival. Moreover, univariate analysis showed that recurrence before SCRS was significantly associated with overall survival. CONCLUSION: SCRS may be beneficial for first relapsed, localized paclitaxel/platinum sensitive epithelial ovarian tumors and patients with a low serum CA 125 level and those who will receive ≥ 6 chemotherapy cycles after SCRS. This procedure should be considered in selected patient populations.

What is the impact of cervical invasion on lymph node metastasis in patients with stage IIIC endometrial cancer?

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of cervical invasion has altered the site of lymph node (LN) metastasis in stage IIIC endometrial cancer (EC) patients. METHODS: Fourty-six patients who had systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy surgery for EC and staged as IIIC were included in the study. Patients with cervical invasion were defined as Group A and patients without cervical invasion were defined as Group B. The groups were compared according to surgical-pathologic characteristics. Chi-square and Annova table test were used to examine the effect of cervical invasion on LN metastasis. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 59 years (range 38-81) and tumor size was 47 mm (range 10-80). Twenty-three patients had cervical involvement (Group A) and 23 had no cervical metastasis (Group B). Groups were not different with regard to cell type, grade, depth of myometrial invasion, tumor size, adnexal involvement, peritoneal metastasis and lymphovascular space invasion. Among 46 patients obturator LN was the most involved site of LN metastasis, however, when there is cervical metastasis external iliac LN was found to be the most involved LN site. Patients without cervical invasion had 21.7% of external iliac LN metastasis while patients with cervical invasion had 60.9% of external iliac LN metastasis. Also, cervical invasion has increased the risk of pelvic LN and obturator LN involvement from 82.6 to 95.7% and 39.1 to 52.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Cervical invasion may have an effect on lymphatic spread and change the site of metastatic LNs. Large prospective studies are needed to clarify the alteration of LN metastasis in cervix invaded EC patients.